ES2898084T3 - Improved material processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

A materials processing system (10d, 10e, 10f) for processing tailings (12d, 12e, 12f) discharged from a mineral processing system, the tailings (12d, 12e, 12f) comprising coarse waste rock, fine waste rock , coarse valuable product and fine valuable product, said materials processing system (10d, 10e, f) comprising: a sorting element (14d, 14e, 14f), a second sorting element (40d, 40e, 40f), a coarse flotation element (18d, 18e, 18f) and a fine flotation element (22d, 22e, 22f) arranged to separate coarse valuable product, coarse waste rock, fine valuable product, and fine waste rock ; said classifying element and said second classifying element configured to respectively separate coarse material from fine material; said coarse flotation member configured to separate coarse waste rock from coarse value product, fine waste rock, fine value product, or any combination thereof; and said fines flotation member configured to separate fine value product from coarse waste rock, fine waste rock, coarse value product, or any combination thereof; the tailings (12d, 12e, 12f) are conveyed by conveying means to said screening element (14d, 14e, 14f) to separate coarse waste rock and coarse value product from fine waste rock and fine value product; coarse waste rock and coarse valuable product from said classifying element (14e, 14f) are transported by conveying means to said coarse flotation element (18e, 18f) to separate coarse valuable product from coarse waste rock; the coarse valuable product from said coarse flotation element (18e, 18f) is conveyed by conveying means to said second classifying element (40e, 40f) to further classify the coarse valuable product to remove any of the fine waste rock and the fine value product which may have bypassed said coarse flotation element (18e, 18f) in the coarse value product; characterized in that the fine waste rock and fine waste rock of said second screening element (40d, 40e, 40f) are transported by conveying means to the fine waste rock and fine waste rock outlet of said screening element ( 14d, 14e, 14f); fine waste rock and fine valuable product from said screening element (14d, 14e, 14f) and second screening element (40d, 40e, 40f) are transported by conveying means to said fines flotation element (22d, 22e, 22f) to separate the fine valuable product from the fine waste rock.

Description

DESCRIPTION

Improved material processing system

Background

Mineral processing systems are used throughout the world in the mining industry. These processing systems take minerals and rocks from mines and crush them to recover the valuable target product that is brought to market and sold for a profit. These mineral processing systems typically recover 85-90% of the valuable product, which means they do not recover the 10-15% of the valuable product that remains in the mineral processing system's tailings. The irrecoverable loss occurs either due to the mass, shape or other factors associated with the valuable product or the valuable product is inadvertently discharged from the system through the waste rock stream. A loss of valuable product of this magnitude equates to a loss of profit from the mineral processing system. Material recovery systems that attempt to recover and collect this lost valuable product have been used in the industry in the past, however, these prior art material processing systems are inefficient, ineffective and unreliable. Thus, there is a need in the industry to improve the recovery and collection of valuable product lost in material processing systems. What is being presented is an improved material processing system and methodology that processes tailings from mineral processing systems to recover valuable product unintentionally discharged from a mineral processing system.

Compendium

What is presented is a material processing system and a method for processing tailings discharged from a mineral processing system. The present invention provides a material processing system according to claim 1 and a tailings processing method according to claim 7.

Document US 2 319 394 A describes a material processing system according to the preamble of claim 1.

The coarse valuable product and the fine valuable product could be copper, gold or phosphorous. Both the coarse value product and the fine value product could be hydrophobic. The classifying element could classify the tailings by mass and the classifying element could be a cyclone separator, a hindered bed density separator or a screen. The coarse flotation element could be an air assisted hindered bed density separator and the fine flotation element could be a column separator.

The material processing system could comprise a blast mill and/or a flotation machine, either or both positioned to process the coarse value product and/or the fine value product from the classifying element, coarse flotation element and coarse flotation element. fines flotation.

Brief description of the drawings

For a more complete understanding and appreciation of this invention and its many advantages, reference will be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a flow chart of the material processing system;

FIG. 1A shows a schematic view of one embodiment of the material processing system of FIG.

1 which is not part of the invention;

FIG. 1B shows a schematic view of another embodiment of the material processing system of FIG.

1 which is not part of the invention;

FIG. 1C shows a schematic view of another embodiment of the material processing system of FIG. 1 which is not part of the invention;

FIG. 1D shows a schematic view of one embodiment of the material processing system of FIG.

1;

FIG. 1E shows a schematic view of another embodiment of the material processing system of FIG.

1;

FIG. 1F shows a schematic view of another embodiment of the material processing system of FIG.

1;

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of another material processing system configuration that is not part of the invention;

FIG. 2A shows a schematic view of one embodiment of the material processing system of FIG.

2 not forming part of the invention;

FIG. 2B shows a schematic view of another embodiment of the material processing system of FIG.

2 not forming part of the invention;

FIG. 2C shows a schematic view of another embodiment of the material processing system of FIG. 2 not forming part of the invention;

FIG. 3 shows a flow diagram of another material processing system configuration that is not part of the invention;

FIG. 3A shows a schematic view of one embodiment of the material processing system of FIG.

3 which does not form part of the invention;

FIG. 3B shows a schematic view of another embodiment of the material processing system of FIG.

3 which does not form part of the invention;

FIG. 3C shows a schematic view of another embodiment of the material processing system of FIG. 3 which does not form part of the invention;

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of another material processing system configuration that is not part of the invention;

FIG. 4A shows a schematic view of one embodiment of the material processing system of FIG.

4 not forming part of the invention;

FIG. 4B shows a schematic view of another embodiment of the material processing system of FIG.

4 not forming part of the invention;

FIG. 4C shows a schematic view of another embodiment of the material processing system of FIG. 4 not forming part of the invention;

FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram of another material processing system configuration that is not part of the invention;

FIG. 5A shows a schematic view of one embodiment of the material processing system of FIG.

5 which does not form part of the invention;

FIG. 5B shows a schematic view of another embodiment of the material processing system of FIG.

5 that do not form part of the invention; and

FIG. 5C shows a schematic view of another embodiment of the material processing system of FIG. 5 which does not form part of the invention.

Detailed description

Referring to the drawings, some of the reference numerals are used to designate the same or corresponding parts throughout the various embodiments and figures shown and described. Corresponding parts are denoted in different embodiments with the addition of lowercase letters. Corresponding part variations in form or function that are depicted in the figures are described. It will be understood that variations in the embodiments are generally interchangeable without departing from the invention.

Tailings from mineral processing systems are often discharged as mud mixtures comprising water, coarse waste rock, fine waste rock, coarse value product, and fine value product. Some limited processing of tailings has been done in the prior art, but such processing has tended not to be very efficient or effective and is typically not cost effective. What is presented is a material processing system comprising a combination of three elements in a variety of configurations: a classifying element, a coarse flotation element and a fines flotation element.

The classifying element, coarse flotation element, and fine flotation element are arranged in a variety of ways to separate coarse waste rock, fine waste rock, coarse valuable product, and fine valuable product from the tailings. maximize recovery of coarse value product and fine value product. Using these three elements in combination has been found to be much more efficient than prior art tailings processing systems.

The classifier essentially separates tailings by mass or density, or more specifically, the classifier separates coarse waste rock and/or coarse value product from fine waste rock and/or fine value product. The classifying element is typically incorporated as a density separator. a cramped bed, a cyclone separator or a screen, but may be incorporated as other devices capable of separating coarse waste rock and/or coarse valuable product from fine waste rock and/or fine valuable product. Each of these embodiments is known to those skilled in the art and any description of their function presented herein is not intended to be exhaustive or comprehensive, but is presented for purposes of clarification and narration only.

The preferred classifying element is a hindered bed density separator, for example, a CROSSFLOAT separator manufactured by Eriez Manufacturing of Erie, Pennsylvania. Crammed Bed Density Separators use a fluidized bed created from an upward flow of rolling water that interacts with a downward flow of particulate sludge to separate coarse waste rock and/or coarse value product from the rock. fine sterile and/or fine valuable product. Fluidized beds are also known to those skilled in the art as hindered beds. Coarse waste rock and coarse valuable product heavy enough to penetrate the fluidized bed fall through the fluidized bed to be discharged through a coarse outlet at the bottom of the separator. Fine waste rock and fine valuable product that cannot penetrate the fluidized bed are kept floating above the fluidized bed until ultimately pushed over the top of the separator by the upward flow of swing water to be discharged into the fluidized bed. through a fine outlet.

Cyclone separators separate coarse waste rock and/or coarse valuable product from fine waste rock and/or fine valuable product through vortex separation. To create the vortex, a high velocity rotating fluid flow is established within the cyclone separator. The fluid flows in a helical pattern starting from the bottom of the cyclone separator and flowing up to its top. Coarse waste rock and/or coarse valuable product entering the cyclone separator will have too much inertia to follow the upward rotating fluid flow. Coarse waste rock and/or coarse valuable product instead collides with the inner walls of the cyclone separator and falls out the bottom through a coarse outlet. Since the fine waste rock and/or fine valuable product have much less mass, they follow the fluid flow up and out of the top of the cyclone separator through a fines outlet.

Screens comprise an angled or graded woven screen element, such as mesh or netting, to separate coarse product and/or coarse waste rock from fine product and/or fine waste rock. The components to be separated enter the screen at the highest point of the woven screen element and then descend towards the lowest point of the woven screen element by rolling, sliding and/or tumbling. As they roll, slide and/or turn, the components to be separated are broken by being smashed against other components or against the woven screen element. Fine valuable product and/or fine waste rock falls through holes in the woven screen element and is discharged from the screen through the fines outlet. Coarse valuable product and/or coarse waste rock will roll, slide and/or tumble on top of the woven screen element without falling through because they are too large to pass through the holes and discharge out of the screen through the coarse outlet. The woven screen element may also have the ability to vibrate, which helps the components roll, slide and/or tumble apart. It should be understood that the screen will also be known to those skilled in the art as a sieve.

The coarse flotation element separates coarse value product from coarse waste rock, fine waste rock, and/or fine value product. The coarse flotation element is preferably an air assisted hindered bed density separator; for example, the HYDROFLOAT separator manufactured by Eriez Manufacturing of Erie, Pennsylvania, but can be incorporated as other devices capable of separating coarse valuable product from coarse waste rock, fine waste rock, and/or fine valuable product. The air-assisted cramped bed density separator is similar to the cramped bed density separator in that this separator creates a fluidized bed by flowing rolling water upward against a downward flow of particulate sludge. However, in this case the rolling water also includes gas bubbles in the flow. The gas bubbles selectively adhere to the target fine value product and coarse value product to alter their density and encourage them to float to the top of the separator and ultimately be removed from the separator through a fine value outlet. The chemistry of the target valuable product can be modified to make it more likely to bind to a gas bubble for removal. Coarse waste rock heavy enough to penetrate the fluidized bed falls through the fluidized bed to be discharged through a coarse waste outlet at the bottom of the separator. In addition to coarse valuable product with sufficient bubbles, fine waste rock and fine valuable product that cannot penetrate the fluidized bed are kept floating above the fluidized bed until the upward flow of the rolling water finally pushes them over the top of the fluidized bed. separator to be discharged through the fine valuable product outlet. The air assisted hindered bed density separator is known to those skilled in the art and any description of its function presented herein is not intended to be exhaustive or comprehensive, but is only presented for purposes of clarification and narration.

The fines flotation element separates fine value product from coarse waste rock, fine waste rock and/or coarse value product. The fines flotation element is typically incorporated as a column separator, but can be incorporated as other devices capable of separating fine value product from coarse waste rock, fine waste rock, and/or coarse value product. Column separators are flotation devices that also act as three-phase settlers where particles move downward in an environment from settling hindered in countercurrent to a swarm of rising air bubbles that are generated by bubblers located at the bottom of the column separator. Column separators are effective in capturing the fine valuable product that adheres to air bubbles to be transported over the top of the separator and subsequently discharged from a fine product outlet while the coarse product, waste rock, is discharged. coarse and/or fine waste rock from the bottom of the separator through a coarse product/residue outlet. Column separators are known to those skilled in the art and any description of their function presented herein is not intended to be exhaustive or comprehensive, but is presented for purposes of clarification and narrative only.

It should be understood that the target coarse value product and the fine value product may both be in gold, copper, phosphates or other target value product. It should also be understood that reagents may be introduced into the tailings, classifying element, coarse flotation element and/or fine flotation element to make the coarse value product and/or the fine value product more hydrophobic and to facilitate the separation of coarse valuable product and/or fine valuable product from coarse waste rock and/or fine waste rock.

The preferred efficient arrangement of the material processing system 10 is shown in FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the tailings 12 are first sent to the screening element 14 to separate the coarse waste rock and coarse value product from the fine waste rock and fine value product. The classifying element 14 discharges the coarse waste rock and coarse valuable product through its coarse outlet 16 to the coarse flotation element 18. The coarse flotation element 18 separates and extracts the coarse valuable product from the coarse waste rock. . The coarse valuable product is removed through a coarse/valuable product outlet 32 of the materials processing system 10 to a coarse valuable product collection area 24 for removal or further processing as needed. The coarse waste rock is discharged through the coarse tailings outlet 30 to a coarse waste rock collection area 28. The classifier 14 discharges the fine waste rock and fine valuable product through its fines outlet 20 to the fines flotation element 22. The fines flotation element 22 then separates and extracts the fine value product from the fine waste rock. The fine value product is removed through a fine value product outlet 34 of the material processing system 10 to a fine value product collection area 26 for removal or further processing as needed. The fine waste rock is discharged through a fine waste outlet 36 to a fine waste rock collection area 38. In some cases, the coarse valuables collection area 24 and the fine valuables collection area 26 may be the same area. Coarse waste rock within the coarse waste rock collection area 28 and the fine waste rock collection area 38 of the coarse flotation element 18 and the fine flotation element 22 are generally discarded.

It should be understood that due to variations in the tailings material and/or the process, the coarse value product and/or the fine value product in the coarse value product collection area 24 and the fine value product collection area 26 may include coarse waste rock and/or fine waste rock. The recovered coarse value product and/or fine value product in the coarse value product collection area 24 and the fine value product collection area 26 may sometimes require additional processing to release the value product from the waste rock. In such cases, the coarse value product and/or the fine value product in the coarse value product collection area 24 and/or the fine value product collection area 26 are sent to a redraw mill to release the waste rock from the waste rock. coarse valuable product and/or the fine valuable product. In some cases, this re-deposited material can be circulated back to material processing system 10 for reprocessing. A flotation machine may be incorporated to attempt to separate the newly released valuable product from the waste rock prior to returning the re-deposited material to the materials processing system 10.

FIG. 1A shows an embodiment of the material processing system 10a that implements the arrangement described in FIG. 1 and does not form part of the invention. In this embodiment, classifying element 14a is a hindered bed density separator as described above. Coarse waste rock and coarse valuable product are discharged through coarse outlet 16a at the bottom of classifying element 14a. The fine waste rock and fine valuable product are finally discharged through the fines outlet 20a of the classifying element 14a.

After being discharged from the coarse outlet 16a, the coarse valuable product and coarse waste rock are transported to the coarse flotation element 18a. The coarse flotation element 18a in this embodiment is like an air assisted cramped bed density separator. Coarse flotation element 18a separates coarse waste rock from coarse valuable product. Coarse waste rock is discharged into a coarse waste rock collection area 28a via coarse waste outlet 30a and coarse valuable product is discharged to coarse valuable product collection area 24a through a coarse/product outlet. valuable 32nd

Fine product and fine waste rock from the fines outlet 20a are conveyed to the fines flotation element 22a for separation. The fines flotation element 22a is incorporated as a column separator. The fine value product is discharged through the fine value product outlet 34a to the fine value product collection area 26a for further processing. The fine waste rock is discharged through a fine waste outlet 36a to a fine waste rock collection area 38a.

FIG. 1B shows another embodiment of the material processing system 10b that implements the arrangements described in FIG. 1, as described above, and does not form part of the invention. In this embodiment, the coarse flotation element 18b is an air-assisted, hindered bed density separator and functions in the same manner as discussed above. Fines flotation element 22b is a column separator and also functions in the same manner as discussed above. However, in this embodiment, the classifying element 14b is a cyclone separator that functions as described above.

FIG. 1C shows another embodiment of the material processing system 10c that implements the arrangements described in FIG. 1, as discussed above, and does not form part of the invention. In this embodiment, the coarse flotation element 18c is an air-assisted, hindered bed density separator and functions in the same manner as discussed above. The fines flotation element 22c is incorporated as a column separator and also functions in the same way as discussed above. However, in this embodiment, the sorting element 14c is a screen that works as described above.

FIG. 1D shows an embodiment of the material processing system 10d that implements the arrangements described in FIG. 1, as discussed above, but also comprises a second sorting element 40d. In this embodiment, the classifying element is a cyclone separator operating as discussed above. Coarse waste rock and coarse valuable product discharged through coarse outlet 16d from classifying element 14d are sent to the second classifying element 40d to remove any fine waste rock and fine valuable product that may have missed the classifying element. classification 14d due to inefficiencies in the cyclone separator. The second classifying element 40d is a hindered bed density separator that functions as discussed above.

Once separation is complete in second classifying element 40d, any recovered coarse fine and fine waste rock product is discharged through a second fines outlet 42d and reintroduced into the fines outlet 20d of classifying element 14d for be conveyed to the fines flotation element 22d. In this embodiment of the material processing system 10d, the fines flotation element 22d is a column separator that functions in the same manner as discussed above.

The coarse valuable product and coarse waste rock fall down through the second classifying element 40d and are discharged out of a second coarse outlet 44d to be transported to the coarse flotation element 18d, which will separate the coarse valuable product from the coarse waste. coarse barren rock. Coarse flotation element 18d in this embodiment is an air-assisted, hindered bed density separator that functions in the same manner as discussed above.

FIG. 1E shows another embodiment of the material processing system 10e that implements the arrangements described in FIG. 1, as discussed above, but also comprises a second sorting element 40e in a different arrangement than that shown in FIG. 1D. In this embodiment, both the classifying element 14e and the second classifying element 40e are cyclone separators that function as described above. However, in this embodiment, the second classifying element 40e is located downstream of the coarse flotation element 18e. The coarse valuable product from the coarse outlet/valuable product 32e of the coarse flotation element 18e is conveyed to the second classifying element 40e for reprocessing to separate any fine waste rock or fine valuable product that may have bypassed the classifying element. classification 14e due to inefficiencies in the cyclone separator.

Once separation is complete in the second classifying element 40e, any fine coarse product and recovered fine waste rock is discharged through a second fines outlet 42e and reintroduced into the fines outlet 20e of the classifying element 14e for be transported to the fines flotation element 22e. In this embodiment of material processing system 10e, fines flotation element 22e is a column separator that functions in the same manner as discussed above.

The coarse value product falls down through the second sorting element 40e and is discharged out of a second coarse outlet 44e to be conveyed to the coarse value collection area 24e.

FIG. 1F shows another embodiment of the material processing system 10f that implements the arrangements described in FIG. 1 but also comprises a second sorting element 40f arranged in the same way as the material processing system embodiment described in FIG. 1E above. In this embodiment, however, the second sorting element 40f is a screen that works in the same way as discussed above.

Another effective arrangement of the material processing system 10g is shown in FIG. 2. In this embodiment, the tailings 12g are first sent to a coarse flotation element 18g to separate and extract coarse waste rock from coarse value product, fine waste rock, and fine value product. Coarse waste rock is discharged through the 30g coarse tailings outlet to a 28g coarse waste rock collection area. The 18g coarse flotation element discharges coarse hot product, fine hot product, and fine waste rock through from the output of coarse/valuable product 32g to be transported to the classification element 14g. The classifying element 14g then separates the coarse valuable product from the fine valuable product and the fine waste rock. The coarse valuable product is discharged from the 16g coarse outlet to the 24g coarse valuable product collection area. Fine waste rock and fine valuable product are discharged from the 14g classifying element through the 20g fines outlet and conveyed to the 22g fines flotation element. The fines flotation element 22g then separates and extracts the fine value product from the fine waste rock and the fine value product is discharged from the fine value product outlet 34g to a fine value product collection area 26g for further processing. The fine waste rock is discharged through the 36g fine tailings outlet to a 38g fine waste rock collection area.

FIG. 2A shows an embodiment of the material processing system 10h that implements the arrangement described in FIG. 2 as discussed above and does not form part of the invention. In this embodiment, the coarse flotation element 18h is an air-assisted, hindered bed density separator that functions in the same manner as discussed above; classifying element 14h is a cyclone separator that works in the same way as discussed above; and the fines flotation element 22h is a column separator which also functions in the same way as discussed above.

FIG. 2B shows another embodiment of the material processing system 10i that implements the arrangements described in FIG. 2 as discussed above, and does not form part of the invention. In this embodiment, the coarse flotation element 18i is an air-assisted, hindered bed density separator that functions in the same manner as discussed above; classifying element 14i is a hindered bed density separator that functions in the same manner as discussed above; and the fines flotation element 22i is a column separator which also functions in the same way as discussed above.

FIG. 2C shows another embodiment of the material processing system 10j that implements the arrangements described in FIG. 2 as discussed above, and does not form part of the invention. In this embodiment, the coarse flotation element 18j is an air-assisted, hindered bed density separator that functions in the same manner as discussed above; sorting element 14j is a screen that works in the same way as discussed above; and the fines flotation element 22j is a column separator which also functions in the same way as discussed above.

Another effective arrangement of the material processing system 10k is shown in FIG. 3. In this non-inventive embodiment, tailings 12k is first sent to coarse flotation element 18k to separate and extract coarse waste rock from coarse value product, fine waste rock, and fine value product. The 18k coarse flotation element discharges coarse hot product, fine hot product, and fine waste rock through the 32k coarse/hot product outlet to the 22k fine flotation element. The 22k fines flotation element separates the fine value product from the fine waste rock and the coarse value product to the 26k fine value collection area through the 34k fine value outlet. The fine waste rock and coarse valuable product pass through the fine tailings outlet 36k to the classifying element 14k.

The classifying element 14k then separates and extracts the coarse valuable product from the fine waste rock and transports the coarse valuable product through the coarse waste outlet 16k to the coarse valuable product collection area 24k and the fine waste rock through the 20k fines outlet to 38k fine waste rock collection area.

FIG. 3A shows an embodiment of the material processing system 10l that implements the arrangements described in FIG. 3 as discussed above, and does not form part of the invention. In this embodiment, the coarse flotation element 18l is an air-assisted, hindered bed density separator that functions in the same manner as discussed above; classifying element 14l is a cyclone separator that works in the same way as discussed above; and the fines flotation element 22l is a column separator which also functions in the same way as discussed above. FIG. 3B shows another embodiment of the material processing system 10m that implements the arrangements described in FIG. 3 as discussed above, and does not form part of the invention. In this embodiment, the coarse flotation element 18m is an air-assisted, hindered bed density separator that functions in the same manner as discussed above; classifying element 14m is a hindered bed density separator which functions in the same way as discussed above; and the fines flotation element 22m is a column separator which also functions in the same way as discussed above.

FIG. 3C shows another embodiment of the material processing system 10n that implements the arrangements described in FIG. 3 as discussed above, and does not form part of the invention. In this embodiment, the coarse flotation element 18n is an air-assisted, hindered-bed density separator that functions in the same manner as discussed above; sorting element 14n is a screen that works in the same way as discussed above; and the fines flotation element 22n is a column separator which also functions in the same way as discussed above.

Another effective arrangement of the material processing system 10o is shown in FIG. 4. In this embodiment which is not part of the invention, the tailings 12o is first sent to the fines flotation element 22o to separate and extract the fine value product from the coarse value product, the fine waste rock and the coarse waste rock. The fine value product is discharged through a fine value product outlet 34o to a fine value product collection area 26o. Fines flotation element 22o discharges coarse valuable product, fine waste rock and coarse waste rock through fine tailings outlet 36o to be transported to coarse flotation element 18o. The 18o coarse flotation element separates coarse waste rock from fine waste rock and coarse valuable product. Coarse waste rock is discharged through a coarse tailings outlet 30o to a coarse waste rock collection area 28o. The coarse flotation element 18o discharges the fine waste rock and coarse product through the coarse/valuable product outlet 32o to the classifying element 14o. The 14th classifying element then separates and extracts the coarse valuable product from the fine waste rock. Coarse valuable product is discharged via coarse outlet 16o to coarse valuable product collection area 24o and fine waste rock is discharged via fines outlet 20o to fine waste rock collection area 38o.

FIG. 4A shows an embodiment of material processing system 10p that implements the arrangements described in FIG. 4 as discussed above, and does not form part of the invention. In this embodiment, the coarse flotation element 18p is an air-assisted, hindered bed density separator that functions in the same manner as discussed above; classifying element 14p is a cyclone separator that works in the same way as discussed above; and the fines flotation element 22p is a column separator which also functions in the same way as discussed above.

FIG. 4B shows another embodiment of the material processing system 10q that implements the arrangements described in FIG. 4 as discussed above, and does not form part of the invention. In this embodiment, the coarse flotation element 18q is an air-assisted, hindered bed density separator that functions in the same manner as discussed above; classifying element 14q is a hindered bed density separator which functions in the same way as discussed above; and the fines flotation element 22p is a column separator which also functions in the same way as discussed above.

FIG. 4C shows another embodiment of the material processing system 10r that implements the arrangements described in FIG. 4 as discussed above, and does not form part of the invention. In this embodiment, the coarse flotation element 18r is an air-assisted, hindered bed density separator that functions in the same manner as discussed above; sorting element 14r is a screen that works in the same way as discussed above; and the fines flotation element 22r is a column separator which also functions in the same way as discussed above.

Another effective arrangement of the material processing system 10s is shown in FIG. 5. In this non-inventive embodiment, the tailings 12s are first sent to the fines flotation element 22s to separate and extract the fine value product from the coarse value product, the fine waste rock and the coarse waste rock. The fine value product is discharged through a fine value product outlet 34s to a fine value product collection area 26s. Fines flotation element 22s discharges coarse valuable product, fine waste rock and coarse waste rock through fine tailings outlet 36s to classifying element 14s. The 14s classifying element separates fine waste rock from coarse waste rock and coarse valuable product. Fine waste rock is discharged through the 20s fines outlet to the 38s fine waste rock collection area. The classifying element 14s discharges the coarse waste rock and coarse valuable product through the coarse outlet 16s to the coarse flotation element 18s. The coarse flotation element 18s then separates and extracts the coarse valuable product from the coarse waste rock. Coarse valuable product is discharged via coarse/valuable product outlet 32s to valuable product collection area 24s and coarse waste rock is discharged via coarse waste outlet 30s to coarse waste rock collection area 28s .

FIG. 5A shows an embodiment of the material processing system 10t that implements the arrangements described in FIG. 5 as discussed above, and does not form part of the invention. In this embodiment, the coarse flotation element 18t is an air-assisted, hindered bed density separator that functions in the same manner as discussed above; classifying element 14t is a cyclone separator that works in the same way as discussed above; and the fines flotation element 22t is a column separator which also functions in the same way as discussed above.

FIG. 5B shows another embodiment of the material processing system 10u that implements the arrangements described in FIG. 5 as discussed above, and does not form part of the invention. In this embodiment, the coarse flotation element 18u is an air-assisted, hindered bed density separator that functions in the same manner as discussed above; classifying element 14u is a hindered bed density separator that functions in the same manner as discussed above; and the fines flotation element 22u is a column separator which also functions in the same way as discussed above.

FIG. 5C shows another embodiment of the material processing system 10v that implements the arrangements described in FIG. 5 as discussed above, and does not form part of the invention. In this In one embodiment, the coarse flotation element 18v is an air-assisted, hindered bed density separator that functions in the same manner as discussed above; sorting element 14v is a screen that works in the same way as discussed above; and the fines flotation element 22v is a column separator which also functions in the same way as discussed above. This invention has been described with reference to several preferred embodiments. Many modifications and alterations will occur to other people after reading and understanding the above specification. The invention is intended to be construed to include all such alterations and modifications insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (9)

1. A materials processing system (10d, 10e, 10f) for processing tailings (12d, 12e, 12f) discharged from a mineral processing system, the tailings (12d, 12e, 12f) comprising coarse waste rock, rock fine sterile, coarse valuable product and fine valuable product, said materials processing system (10d, 10e, 10f) comprising: a classifying element (14d, 14e, 14f), a second classifying element (40d, 40e, 40f), a coarse flotation element (18d, 18e, 18f) and a fine flotation element (22d, 22e, 22f) arranged to separate coarse valuable product, coarse waste rock, fine valuable product, and fine waste rock; said classifying element and said second classifying element configured to respectively separate coarse material from fine material; said coarse flotation member configured to separate coarse waste rock from coarse value product, fine waste rock, fine value product, or any combination thereof; and said fines flotation member configured to separate fine value product from coarse waste rock, fine waste rock, coarse value product, or any combination thereof; the tailings (12d, 12e, 12f) are conveyed by conveying means to said screening element (14d, 14e, 14f) to separate coarse waste rock and coarse value product from fine waste rock and fine value product; coarse waste rock and coarse valuable product from said classifying element (14e, 14f) are conveyed by conveying means to said coarse flotation element (18e, 18f) to separate coarse valuable product from coarse waste rock; the coarse valuable product from said coarse flotation element (18e, 18f) is conveyed by conveying means to said second classifying element (40e, 40f) to further classify the coarse valuable product to remove any of the fine waste rock and the fine value product which may have bypassed said coarse flotation element (18e, 18f) in the coarse value product; characterized by what the fine waste rock and fine waste rock of said second screening element (40d, 40e, 40f) are transported by conveying means to the fine waste rock and fine waste rock outlet of said screening element (14d, 14e , 14f); fine waste rock and fine valuable product from said screening element (14d, 14e, 14f) and second screening element (40d, 40e, 40f) are transported by conveying means to said fines flotation element (22d, 22e, 22f) to separate fine value product from fine waste rock. 2. The material processing system (10d, 10e, 10f) of claim 1, wherein said classifying element classifies the tailings by mass. 3. The material processing system (10d, 10e, 10f) of any of claims 1 to 2, wherein said classifying element is a cyclone separator, a hindered bed density separator or a screen. The material processing system (10d, 10e, 10f) of any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein said coarse flotation element is an air-assisted, hindered bed density separator. 5. The material processing system (10d, 10e, 10f) of any of claims 1 to 2, wherein said fines flotation element is a column separator. 6. The material processing system (10d, 10e, 10f) of any of claims 1 to 2, further comprising a redrawing mill, a flotation machine, or any combination thereof, arranged to process the coarse valuable product , the fine value product, or any combination thereof, of said classifying element, coarse flotation element and fines flotation element. 7. A tailings processing method using the processing system of any of claims 1 to 6. 8. The tailings processing method using the processing system of claim 7, wherein both the coarse valuable product and the fine valuable product are copper, gold, or phosphorus. 9. The tailings processing method using the processing system of claim 7, wherein both the coarse valuable product and the fine valuable product are rendered hydrophobic.